the Forum, is one reflection of this commitment. The Network has also actively engaged with other key mechanisms, such as the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues and the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, with which had an exchange in November 2014 to discuss how the Network could contribute to the forthcoming International Decade of People of African Descent. 5. The theme of this year’s Forum on Minority Issues is highly relevant for the work of the Network. It is clear that for some members of the Network - such as the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect who work to advance efforts to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity - this year’s theme concerns the core of their mandate. But combatting violence and atrocity crimes is also a prime example of an area where joint efforts throughout the system are required in order for us to have an impact. It is such joint efforts and cooperation that the Network aims to facilitate. 6. The relevance of this year’s Forum theme for the UN system is reflected also in the Secretary General’s Guidance Note, which highlights the importance of taking enhanced action to advance the rights of minorities, inter alia, by “encouraging constructive management of diversity to address identity-based tensions, as well as culturally attuned preventive measures focusing on the most important risk factors”. 7. It also reminds the entire system that discrimination is often at the root of identity-related tensions and that, such tensions can develop into crises that could ultimately lead to conflict, forced displacement and, in the worst cases, to atrocity crimes, including genocide. Racial discrimination undermines human rights protection, but it can also undercut efforts to secure peace, security and sustainable development. a. International legal framework 8. The task to advance minority rights is firmly anchored in the UN Charter, which underlines respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. Discrimination and injustice threaten the goals for peace, security and sustainable development. 9. Protecting the rights of minorities does not prejudice the majority’s enjoyment of universal rights and freedoms. Minority rights are enshrined in international law and exist to ensure that persons belonging to minorities can enjoy all human rights on equal footing with others. Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) establishes that in those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language. Article 20 prohibits advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to